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Sports Watch
IF I hadn't sat with former Rainbow baseball star Curt Watanabe and Duane Kurisu, who's trying to revive the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, I might have felt a bit out of place at the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation banquet. Education and
sports serendipityI usually attend athletic banquets. The field of education was foremost for the majority of the 1,300 in attendance at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tuesday night.
The occasion was to honor four elementary school teachers and three distinguished public school graduates.
Darn, if the evening didn't provide serendipitous stories worth sharing, sports fans.
Wally Yonamine, who needs no introduction to those familiar with Japanese baseball, and Toshi Nakasone, a long-time teacher, coach, athletic director and principal, were two of the honorees.
The third was Joyce Tsunoda, University of Hawaii senior vice president and chancellor of community colleges.
It turns out, she had as much of a sports background as Wally and Toshi.
Nakasone, who will be 80 on June 12, graduated from Lahainaluna - the state's oldest public school - and played on the same football team with Wally's older brother, Akira.
Wally later starred for the Lunas before he attracted the attention of Honolulu's football coaches.
Yonamine transferred to Farrington and led the Governors to their first football championship in 1944.
It was at Farrington - named after Gov. Wallace Rider Farrington - where Yonamine, then only known by his Japanese name Kaname, decided to have his first name legally changed to Wallace.
Yonamine's claim to fame, of course, is his brilliant Japanese baseball career. After three batting titles, 11 years as an all-star and becoming the first foreigner to be a manager, he was elected to the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Yonamine, who'll be 75 on June 24, admitted that, as a youngster, he might have spent more time hitting a baseball than the books. Now he champions education, providing college scholarships to deserving students through his foundation. He also sponsors the state high school baseball tournament.
As for Tsunoda, her late father, Yukio Nishimura, is also a member of the Japanese baseball hall of fame. He pitched for the Hanshin Tigers in the 1930s.
SHE researched the material for her father's biography, "First Generation Giant Killer," a reference to his ability to dominate the Yomiuri Giants, Wally's future team.
Tsunoda graduated from Leilehua as the class valedictorian, a remarkable achievement for someone who came to Hawaii at the age of 10 and spoke no English.
Also, her son-in-law is former Campbell football coach Darren Hernandez, who's now at Kapolei, the OIA's newest high school.
Nakasone's OIA roots go back when the league was made up of 11 "country" schools. When it merged with the five Honolulu high schools in 1970, he was elected the league's first president.
He was always a teacher first. He remembers his first year at Waialua High in 1949.
"After six solid periods of school, I had to coach the football, basketball, baseball and track teams," Nakasone said.
In 1952, his Bulldogs won the first of four OIA football championships.
"The first one was the best," Nakasone said. "Before then, we used to get bus' up every year by Waipahu."
His star running back was Gerald Welch. If his name rings a bell, he's the grandfather of St. Louis football standout, Gerald Welch.